#nothing to make you say 'ah I see why they picked Gyllenhaal!'

[airyairyaucontraire]

I do admire Antonio Banderas' ability to say a line like "Adiós, Humpty Dumpty" with smouldering intensity.

[dlwritings]

Moving Out (and On?) | Tom Holland

masterlist found here

pairing - Tom x reader (ft Niall Horan) word count - 3,618 warnings - language A/N - for the anon who requested x | this edit was fun to make | ya’ll love a secret dating gone wrong fic

summary - You’re sick of being Tom’s secret girlfriend, always coming in second to his career. But you didn’t want your relationship to end. When everything goes up in flames, you turn to your favorite Irishman to give you some support.

It was basically the most cliche issue you could have when secretly dating a celebrity. If the world doesn’t know you exist, interviewers are going to ask about other women. After almost two years of dating Tom Holland, you still weren’t quite used to it. For a while, it was always about Zendaya. Then, it just became any famous girl he was seen with. But Tom wasn’t with any of them. He was with you. And you were getting a little tired of hiding it.

You did your best dealing with it. You loved Tom, and you didn’t want to ruin what you had just because you wanted to go public and he didn’t.

Tom was away on press for The Devil All the Time, and you were missing him a lot. You talked on the phone every night, but it didn’t make you miss him any less. To make up for his absence, you were keeping up with the videos different news outlets were posting from his press tour. You were pumped to see that he had done another Wired autocomplete interview. His previous one had been with Zendaya and Jacob, so you were kind of excited to see him do one alone.

Tom introduced himself, and you couldn’t help but smile at his voice. Once he was handed a board, he was quick to begin. “What is Tom Holland’s,” Tom read, peeling off a strip, “phone number.” He laughed. “Uh, I won’t pick up my phone, but you can try calling my husband, Jake Gyllenhaal at (213) 406-6007.”

You laughed at his joke and continued watching. Some of the questions were interesting (What house is Tom Holland in? got him on a Harry Potter kick), but others just made you laugh some more (Is Tom Holland a dad? was a good one). 

“Is Tom Holland,” he read after laughing over the previous question, “dating anyone?”

You took a deep breath and let it out through your nose as Tom was able to maintain his poker face. “Tom Holland is enjoying his 20s right now,” he answered, “and he is very focused on his work. So you could say he is dating his career.”

Your mood shifted significantly after that question, and even though you continued watching the video, you enjoyed it much less. If you were any normal couple, he would’ve been able to say yes. Give the real answer. But this was you and Tom, and apparently the public wasn’t ready for that yet.

Just as you finished the video, as if he knew, Tom called you. You answered and tried to sound cheery. “Hi,” you said. “How’re you doing, Tommy?”

“Tired,” he answered honestly. “S’been a long day.”

“I’m sorry, love,” you said. Tom was quiet for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What?” you said. “Nothing. What’re you talking about?”

“You sound upset,” he said.

“I’m not,” you said.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” you said again. “I’m just tired, too.”

“Why’re you tired?”

“Can’t I just be tired?”

“You’re not usually tired.”

“Well today I am.”

“You’re lying.”

“Why do you think I’m lying?”

“Because I know you.”

“It’s fine, Tom.”

“(Y/N), just talk to me. I hate knowing you’re upset-”

“I’m not upset!” you shouted. You took a deep breath and sighed. “I just miss you. That’s all.”

He sighed as well. “I miss you too.”

“I was watching some of your interviews,” you told him.

“Yeah?” he said, his tone lightening up a little. “Which ones?”

“I just finished your Wired autocomplete,” you said.

“That’s always a fun one,” he said. “That board though-” He made a sound like he shivered. “-like a nail on chalkboard to me.”

You laughed dryly. “I know.” Tom was quiet for a moment.

“Can you talk to me?” he asked. You could tell he was hesitant, like he didn’t want to upset you any more than he already had. “There’s something else going on. I can tell.” You didn’t want to fight with him, so you decided to tell him the truth.

“I don’t want to hide our relationship anymore,” you said. “I’m tired.”

“(Y/N),” he said with a sigh. “We’ve talked about this.”

“And you tell me the same thing over and over again,” you said. “That you’re just not ready and that you don’t think I can handle it. I can handle it, Tom.”

“We’re not having this talk again.”

“Yes we are!” you said.

“(Y/N)-”

“In the interview, you said you’re dating your career,” you told him. “And you know what? That’s what it feels like sometimes! I feel like I’m falling to the backburner, because if I’m a secret, I don’t affect your career, and if it’s not about your career, then it doesn’t matter. Not to you. Not right now. You feel like a different person right now, like you’re living and breathing your work.”

“What, so you want me to stop?”

“Of course not,” you said. “Don’t be stupid. I just want you to be proud that we’re in this relationship. To value me as much as you value work.”

“I can’t just put down what I’m working on to make you feel important,” he said.

“That’s not what I’m asking you to do!”

“I’m not going to keep having this conversation with you,” he said. “This isn’t the first time you’ve brought this up, that I don’t care about you or this relationship or whatever. Frankly, (Y/N), I can’t handle this right now. Every time you bring it up it just raises my stress level. I can’t afford to be stressed right now.”

“So what does that mean?”

“It means if you really feel this way, then I’m done.”

“You’re done,” you repeated.

“Yeah,” he said. “I can’t keep babying you so you can feel secure in this relationship. I’m done.”

“Tom-”

The dial tone on the other end cut you off, and you felt tears come to your eyes. This hadn’t been your intention. You just wanted to have a conversation, and hopefully come to a better conclusion than you had every other time you brought it up. Maybe it was your fault. Maybe you should’ve just let it all be. Maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned it over the phone when he was busy with press. Maybe you had just lost the love of your life because of one rash decision.

You were quite young still. 21 wasn’t old. You still had your whole life ahead of you. But you were certain you and Tom were going to live happily ever after. So what were you supposed to do now?

You did the only thing you could think to do: call Niall.

Tom had gone golfing with Niall Horan a couple of times, and he would invite the Irishman over for dinner afterwards. You had been hanging out at Tom’s flat the first time he brought Niall over, and you were shocked when he walked through the door. You had always been a big fan of One Direction, and you were obsessed with Niall’s solo work. Luckily, after dating Tom for so long, you were a lot better at talking to famous people. Plus, Niall was crazy nice, and the two of you clicked instantly. After that, you considered him a good friend. A best friend actually.

So you gave him a call.

“‘Ello!” he said cheerily. “How’s it going?”

“Hey, Ni,” you said, your voice cracking. “You got a minute?”

“Always got a minute for you,” he said. “What’s wrong?” You opened your mouth only to close it again once you could tell you were about to break down into sobs. You sniffed a few times and finally composed yourself.

“Tom broke up with me,” you whispered.

“Ah, shit,” he said. You could hear him moving around a bit on his end. “You want me to come over?”

“Do you mind?” you asked, looking over at the clock. It was already 10:30.

“Course not,” he said. “I’ll be over in a bit.”

“I’ll leave it unlocked,” you said.

Niall was over in a few minutes, ready to lend a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. “What happened?” he asked as you cuddled up to him on the couch.

“I just-” You were sniffing, practically blubbering. “I told him I was sick of, of keeping our relationship a secret. And that I didn’t want to keep, keep living in the shadows. He got mad, and, and he told me that he didn’t want to do it anymore.”

“Do what?”

“Have the same conversation we’ve been having,” you explained. “I bring it up all the time. I just want him to, to-” You cut yourself with a sigh. “I don’t know, Niall. I just felt like I was second best to all the work he’s been doing. And I’m not trying to sound unsupportive, but-”

“You don’t sound unsupportive,” he said. “Sounds like you want to be in a relationship that makes you happy, and Tom wasn’t doing that.”

“Most of the time he was,” you said. “But you know how he gets when he’s got a new role. It, it’s like it consumes him.” Niall just nodded and massaged the top of your head with his fingers.

“Maybe it’ll all work out,” he tried to offer. “Maybe it was just a fight.”

“We don’t ever fight like that,” you told him. “I try to be optimistic, but this is just-” You swallowed back more tears and shook your head. “This felt final.” Niall sighed and placed a kiss to the top of your head.

“You know I’m here for you,” he said. “However and whenever you need me.”

“I know,” you told him, putting your arm around his stomach to hold him closer. “Thank you.”

You spent every day with Niall for the next two months. He helped you move out from the flat you shared with Tom and let you stay with him until you could get back on your feet. You didn’t hear from Tom once. Niall was the perfect friend. He did everything he could to boost your spirits, constantly getting you ice cream or takeaway, and forcing you everyday to get out of bed and take a shower. He knew you well. Knew you’d mope and stop taking care of yourself if he let you. 

After two or so weeks went by, you forced yourself to put on a brave face. You didn’t want Niall to have to keep babying you. Tom wasn’t coming back, and there was nothing you could do about it. He hadn’t reached out to you once, and his Instagram stories were proof he was doing just fine. You were able to convince Niall you were okay with your fake laughs and pretty smiles.

Or so you thought.

Niall wasn’t dumb. Everyday, he saw you staring blankly at your black phone screen like you were waiting for it to light up with a call or text from Tom. He heard you crying in your room most nights, and he saw the redness rimming in your eyes every morning. He wasn’t sure you were even sleeping. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t reach out to Tom. He couldn’t help you if you didn’t want it. So he gave you space and let you recover however you needed to.

At the two month mark, Niall took you out for breakfast at your favorite cafe. You agreed eagerly, especially when he said he’d pay. In no world would you turn down a free breakfast.

Across town, Tom’s flight had just landed. He pulled out his phone and decided to scroll through some social media before Harrison picked him up. When he opened Instagram, he clicked through the stories of people he was following. He clicked through them absentmindedly, but his thumb froze when he saw a picture of you. You had your hands wrapped around a coffee cup and a huge smile on your face. Instantly, his heart dropped. Had you really moved on so soon? To Niall? He thought back to that day two months ago. The day he broke up with you. The worst day of his life.

“So what does that mean?” you asked him.

“It means if you really feel this way, then I’m done,” he said.

“You’re done,” you repeated.

“Yeah,” he said. “I can’t keep babying you so you can feel secure in this relationship. I’m done.”

“Tom-”

He hung up before you could finish your sentence and threw his phone against the wall. His case would protect it, he knew. He put his forehead in his hands and clenched his jaw. “Fuck!” he shouted. He meant what he said. He was sick of having the same conversation over and over again. He wasn’t ready to go public. End of story. Why did you keep having to push it? He just couldn’t handle it anymore. It was raising his stress level, and after filming his most recent movies, he couldn’t afford to be any more stressed than he already was.

Now, two months later, he was questioning everything. Had he overreacted? Deep down, he really thought you’d end up getting back together. That this was just a fight, and that you’d reach out to him. When months went by and you didn’t, he knew he had really fucked up. Maybe it was his place to reach out, but at this point, he felt like he didn’t have the right. You had already moved on. How could he just push his way into your life again?

But he had to. He had to talk to you. To say he was sorry. To get on his knees and beg to have you back, if it came to that. So, he made a snap decision. When Harrison brought him home, he asked if Tom wanted to hang out, but the ladder said no. He got in his car and headed off to Niall’s house.

You and Niall were sitting on the couch watching Harry Potter when there was a knock at the front door. You groaned and reached for the remote, but Niall just laughed. “Don’t pause it,” he said. “I’ll go check.”

“You’re going to miss Sirius’ death,” you said with a pout.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said back. You scoffed and nodded, adjusting the blanket you were using and turning back to the TV. You couldn’t hear who was at the door, but you could make out the muffled sounds of Niall speaking with someone.

When Niall opened the door, the last person he expected to see was Tom. Niall turned to look over his shoulder and make sure you hadn’t crept down the hall, and when he saw it was clear, he turned to his friend. “Hey,” he said awkwardly.

“Hey,” Tom said back, just as uncomfortable. “Is (Y/N) here?”

“Yeah,” Niall said. “She’s been staying with me since you two-” He cut himself off. Tom hung his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Listen, Tom, I don’t know if she’s ready to see you.”

“Come on, mate,” he said. “I’m begging you. Just let me talk to her.” Niall studied Tom. He could tell he was broken up, and he felt bad for his friend. But he felt bad for you too. He had been with you through all of this, and it hadn’t been a pretty picture. You still weren’t yourself, and he knew seeing Tom again would just bring you back to square one. But maybe you needed this closure. Who was he to stand in the way of that?

So he stepped to the side and let Tom in.

You heard footsteps approaching, so you turned to see who had stopped by. When you saw Tom, you sat up a little straighter. “What are you doing here?” you asked. Niall shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat awkwardly. You shot him a glare.

“I’ll be in my room,” he said. Tom nodded, and Niall left you alone. You pulled the blanket a little closer to you like it could be a barrier between the two of you. Tom noticed and took a step closer to the couch so he could sit on the opposite end.

“What are you doing here?” you asked again.

“I just want to talk to you,” he said.

“About what?” you asked.

He hesitated. “You been living here long?”

“Since you broke up with me, yeah,” you said. “I needed a place to go.”

“So you moved on that quick?” he asked, his voice small. You raised your eyebrows.

“What does that mean?” you asked.

“I break up with you, and the next day you’re with Niall?”

“I’m not with Niall,” you snapped, realizing what he was implying. “I needed a home, Tom! You broke up with me! I had to move out! I couldn’t move back home, I couldn’t afford a place by myself! Niall was here for me!” Quickly, you added, “And even if I was with him, what right do you have to be upset about that? You broke up with me! At least Niall isn’t scared of posting pictures of me! Of people knowing who I am. You know how refreshing that is? I’ve been hidden for two years. Going out in public with Niall is like-” You let out a dry laugh. “It was like a breath of fresh air.”

“Well, then be with Niall!” Tom shouted. He was getting frustrated, but more with himself than with you. He deserved everything you were saying, and it just made him mad at himself.

“I don’t want to be with Niall!” you shouted back. “I don’t love Niall! I love you! But you didn’t want to make it work!”

“I never said that!” Tom said.

“You didn’t want to take the next step!” you said. “You, you keep hiding me, Tom! Why are you so ashamed of me?” Tom didn’t answer for a moment, too taken aback by your words.

“Is that what you think?” he said. “That I’m ashamed of you?”

“I don’t understand why else you would hide me like you had for two years,” you said.

He started stuttering through his response. “(Y/N), I’ve, I’m, it’s not that at all.” You didn’t say anything, and he sighed. “I’m scared of what could go wrong.” You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head.

“I don’t understand,” you said.

“It’s easy right now, you know?” he said. “It’s easy, and it’s safe, and there’s no chance of someone hurting you or you getting, getting too overwhelmed by everything.” It still wasn’t clicking to you.

“I don’t understand,” you said. “So, so you-” You sighed and pressed your fingers to your temples. “Why didn’t you just talk to me about it? Instead of shutting me down every time I brought it up?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “I just wasn’t ready to talk about it.”

“Jesus, Tom,” you said, feeling a lump rise in your throat. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “If I could take it all back, I would.” You looked at him just as he lifted his head to look at you. His eyes were brimmed with tears, and you knew yours were too.

“I won’t be in the shadows anymore,” you told him. “I won’t.”

“I know,” he said. “I swear, you won’t be anymore. I’ll tell everyone. I’ll shout it from the rooftops, whatever you want.” You couldn’t help but giggle a bit, which made Tom’s face light up. “Move back in with me?” he asked. Your smile dropped a fraction, and you looked down at your hands.

“Can I stay here a while longer?” you said. “If it’s okay with Niall? I just-” You sighed. “I just want to take this slow moving forward. I need time to, to get back to where we were. I still love you,” you added, “but I just-” You took a shaky breath. “I’m not there yet.” Tom nodded in understanding.

“Okay,” he said. “Whatever you need. Just-” He moved a little closer to you and stroked your cheek with the back of his hand. “-know that I love you so much, and however you want to go public, I’m game.” You nodded, and Tom smiled and leaned forward, hoping you’d meet him halfway for a kiss. You did. He smiled against your lips and put his hand on the back of your head, keeping you close to him.

You pulled away from each other when you heard a dramatic clearing of the throat. You turned your head and saw Niall leaning against the doorframe with his arms across his chest. “I see you lovebirds patched things up,” he said. You and Tom both chuckled, and Tom hung his head as the tips of his ears turned pink.

“Is it okay if I stay a little longer?” you asked Niall.

He nodded without hesitation. “Stay as long as you need.” He paused. “You guys wanna get some food?” Tom looked at you, and you bit your lip and hung your head.

“I think we might head back to my place for a while,” he said. “You know, catch up a little bit.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” he said, covering his ears. “I don’t need to hear anymore. I get the picture.”

You and Tom said goodbye to Niall, and as soon as the door shut, Niall put his hands on his hips and sighed. He thought for a moment and reached into his pocket for his phone, clicking on the first contact name that came to his mind.

“Tommo! You up for some Nandos?”

----- ----- ----- -----

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[ghoulboyboos]

It’s a pretty normal prompt but it’s just one of those cute little movie popcorn dates, and it’s all soft and shit. UwU

Neversay that soft, fluffy movie dates are normal or simple or anything! ILIVE for fluff, Nonnie and thank you for my LIFE with this prompt!

This is a first date situation, I guess it can take place after the domestic!boys one I posted before but you don’t have to have read that one to get this :D

Shaneis oddly nervous. He checks if Netflix works – it does – makessure he has enough butter, salt and popcorn kernels – duh,even if he has literally no other edible things, these three thingsare always in his home – and runs into the bathroom againto sniff himself and his shirt, just so he can be absolutelypositive that he doesn’t smell – he doesn’t, his deodorantactually smells pretty nice.

Atthe same time, he does and doesn’t know why he’s freaking out. Itmakes sense for him to be nervous, because this is technically afirst date. A first date with someone he has known for a long time.Someone who has been his friend, his best friendfor years. Of course he would be nervous on a first date. Of coursehe should be nervousif one of his relationships transitions into something… more. Atthe same time it feels kind of stupid to be this worried.

Shaneand Ryan have met for movie night countless times. They made popcorn,sat down on the couch and watchedwhatever was next on their list. Right, the list.

Shaneopens it up on his phone to check it – for the sixth time. Unlesshe is very, very, very, very wrong, “Zodiac”is next on their list. Ryan knows the movie, Shane does not. Heactually doesn’t know much about it. He knows Jake Gyllenhaal is init, and for a second he worries that Ryan might get too interested inthe movie for a first date. What can he say, Gyllenhaal is reallyhandsome.

Helowers his phone and makes a face at nothing. Is he really gettingjealous about Ryan possibly paying more attention to Gyllenhaal thanhim? He clearly is out of his mind. They always meet to watch moviesand the main goal of those hangouts is to watch the movie.Their date isn’t justthe movie, so Shane tries to calm himself down.

Ryanwill come over and they will watch a cool movie with a really goodlooking and great-at-what-he-does actor and they will bond over theconnections to their True Crime episode and they will have fun.Shane relaxes a bit. His main goal for the evening is that both havefun and he is pretty confident that they will achieve it. It’s whatfinally gets him to calm down a little.

-

Whenhis doorbell rings, Shane takes a deep breath – more to pause thanto calm himself. He has been pacing the last ten minutes and hedoesn’t want to seem desperate or too worried. It’s less that hethinks about his ego and more that he’s afraid of scaring Ryan offwith his fretting. So he buzzes the other man in and waits by thedoor, because even though he doesn’t want to seem desperate, hestill wants to be a good host.

“Hey.”He says when Ryan reaches his floor. “Got here okay?”

“Yeah.”Ryan smiles and Shane’s stomach flips because he looks great. He’swearing a dark button down with short sleeves, which at the same timeshows off his arms and makes his skin look amazing. Other than that,he is wearing jeans and sneakers, so he is not overdressed and Shaneisn’t underdressed in comparison. He holds out an arm to offer Ryana hug and Ryan wraps his arms around him and gives him a slightsqueeze. Shane smiles as the other man leans up to kiss his cheek.It’s a good start.

-

“Zodiac”is fascinating and Shane forgets about fretting about their firstdate, forgets about possible jealousy of Jake Gyllenhaal and justwatches intently. He and Ryan share a bowl of popcorn, despite Ryan’soccasional slight germaphobia. Shane expectshim to mention how unhygienic it is to share snacks like that, butthere is no complaint at all. Ryan’s eyes are fixed on the screenwith suspense while he stuffs a fist full of popped kernels in hismouth. One escapes him and drops in his lap and before he can reachfor it, Shane grabs it and pops it into his own mouth. He catchesRyan stare and the slightest hint of pink on those cheeks and Shanefeels like he accomplished something.

Halfwayinto the movie, Shane thinks about the old “stretch-move” to gethis arm around Ryan, but he decides that he should be a little more…genuine about it. He looks at Ryan and waits for him to notice. Ryanglances over at him, before stiffening and turning to look at him forreal, unspoken questions on his face. Shane carefully lifts his armand very visibly sets out to wrap it around Ryan’s shoulders. Hepauses before touching Ryan. Ryan stares at him for a moment beforesmiling widely. His hand reaches out to grab Shane’s and he pullsthe arm around his shoulders. Shane laughs softly as he feels Ryanexhale and relax under his half-hug. He leans a little closer andrelishes in the warmth that ends up pressed to his side.

Oncethe film is over, Ryan ask Shane all sorts of questions about it,mostly curious about how well he liked it, what he thought of thetension build-up and others. Shane is happy to just chat about moviesand they both get a little too excited about some of the greatermoments. His arm hasn’t moved from around Ryan’s shoulders andRyan doesn’t seem to mind.

Aftera while, they settle in a kind of lull, relaxing and just sittingtogether. Shane thinks about things to do. They could watch somethingelse, maybe something romantic, even. They could order food or have acouple of drinks. He isn’t sure about either, so he just offers tomake more popcorn.

Ryanpicks one of the un-popped kernels from the bowl and flicks it atShane with a laugh.

“Soundsgood, big guy.”

-

Shaneis watching the popcorn machine thoughtfully. He’s leaning againstthe counter and wonders what Ryan is doing. He is probably scrollingthrough Netflix. Unbidden, the question if this is a good date comesto Shane’s mind. Technically, except for the half-cuddle, theirdate so far has not been any different than their usual movie nights.Shane isn’t sure if he should change anything, though. Because theyare having fun, at least he thinks they do. A date should be fun,right? He is having fun with a person he likes very much and he hasat least the impression that it’s the same for Ryan. So it’s an…okay date at the very least, he decides.

Hesighs and pours the popcorn in the bowl, swirling it around to mix itwith the butter and salt.

“Youokay?”

Shanenearly drops the bowl. He manages to suppress the flinch, however andturns over his shoulder. Ryan is standing in the doorway to hiskitchen, one foot up to scratch at his shin as if he doesn’t reallyknow if he should step into the room or not. Shane blinks.

“Ofcourse I’m okay.”

Ryansmiles a little.

“Okay.Good. I don’t know why… so, uh, don’t take this the wrong way,but I was worried you might freak out.”

Shanelooks down at the popcorn.

“Imean…” He starts, not sure where to go with the sentence. “Iguess, I’m nervous? But not supernervous. Not I don’t know why I did thisnervous. I’m just unsure if you’re having a good time.”

Ryanfrowns and tilts his head as he looks at him.

“Ofcourse I’m having a good time!”

“Oh.”Shane feels a smile split his face. “Okay, cool.”

“Is…is that your only worry?”

Shaneblinks.

“Yeah?What else would there be to worry about?”

Ryanshrugs.

“Idon’t know. I guess I was worried too.” After Shane’s blanklook, he sighs and continues. “I think I was worried you mightregret things. Like, us becoming something different, I mean.”

“Oh.”Shane hasn’t even thought about that. He suddenly feels a littlebad for not questioning how Ryan was doing.

“Ididn’t worry about that.” He finally says. “I just hoped youhad fun and didn’t regret it.”

“Isee.” Ryan seems almost amused. “Well, I guess if you don’tregret it and I don’t regret it, that’s a good start.”

Shanelaughs.

“Yeah,gotta agree with you there.”

-

Theydrop back on the couch, cuddling a little closer this time. Ryancompliments Shane’s popcorn and they switch to a fun little rom-comto play in the back while they are chatting. Ryan throws popcorn atShane when he makes fun of Ryan’s view on alien invasions and Shanefires back with a bag of gummy worms. Once they clean up the sofaagain, Shane is relaxed with laughter and melts against Ryan whoholds him up, solid and warm. They switch from chatting about moviesto talking about anything to… not talking.

Shane’slips brush Ryan’s temple and he is only a little surprised when theshorter man shifts and captures Shane’s lips in a proper kiss. Thekisses that follow are soft and warm and popcorn flavored and Shanesmiles into them when Ryan throws his legs over Shane’s lap.

Theysit together on the couch, holding onto one another and sharing theodd kiss while the credits of the film they didn’t really watch runin the background.

Shanefeels the warmth turn into heat on his face when he swallows anddares to ask:

“Doyou want to sleep over tonight? Not like… you know. I’m notasking anything dirty. I’m just wondering…”

Ryansmiles up at him.

“Iwould like that, yeah. I’ll stay over if you want me to.”

“Ah…okay. That’s great.” Shane kisses the top of Ryan’s head and isrewarded with a chuckle.

“Wannawatch Ghostbusters?”

Ryanlaughs out loud.

“Weboth watched that… how many times?”

“Hundreds!”Shane grins at him. “I still love it. You game?”

Ryanlooks him up and down, arms still wrapped around Shane’s middle andhis legs thrown over Shane’s lap.

“Sure.I’m always up for Ghostbusters.”

Freefrom any worries, Shane giggles. Ryan kisses his cheek and jaw whilehe is picking the film and it’s sappy but also very nice. Once theintro is playing, he cups Ryan’s face again to kiss him some more.

“Hopethe popcorn lasts.” He finally says. “Because I’m not gettingup soon!”

Hecan almost imagine Ryan’s grip tighten around his waist.

“Fuckthe popcorn,” Ryan mutters and he laughs when Shane gaspsdramatically. “I don’t care about it right now.”

“Blasphemy.”Shane mutters against Ryan’s mouth.

“Eh.”Ryan shrugs. “You taste like it anyway, so I’m good.”

Shanesmirks and kisses him again. Ryan’s right. They do taste ofpopcorn.

Apparently,stacking up on it had also been needless worry.

Shaneis fine with it. Better safe than sorry.